Category Page: Learning Resources

What are Communication Difficulties?

Communication difficulties refer to a wide range of disorders associated with speech and language skills and the ability to effectively communicate. Speech and language difficulties sometimes can happen due to a medical condition affecting typical speech/language/communication development. For example, cleft palate, hearing impairment, neurological damages can affect speech and language and therefore communication abilities. In severe cases, it can happen when children are deprived of the opportunities to develop language. Or, even if speech and language could develop typically, due to family and social restrictions (e.g., in some cultures, children are not appreciated to communicate freely with adults, which affects motivation to communicate with others), many children may not be good communicators, even when they become adults.

In general, difficulties in any of the following areas can significantly affect a child’s ability to communicate effectively:

Hearing difficulty

Listening and attention

Understanding of language

Knowledge of vocabulary and concepts

Clear speech–the ability to produce speech sounds in such a way that they can be
heard clearly

The ability to use language meaningfully with attention to grammatical structure

Semantics—being aware of the meaning of words, phrases, sentences, and how to use
them

Social awareness of how to use language in an appropriate manner for the context
(pragmatic skills)

Opportunities to use language (conversational practice)

Motivation to communicate with others

So, broadly communication difficulties can be categorised in to three groups:

Speech difficulties: problems with speech sound production and coordination of
speech sounds.

Language difficulties: problems with using speech sounds to make up meaningful
words, phrases, sentences and using these structures in the right communication and
social context

If any of the above is affected significantly, the social and education progress of a child will also be affected. Because language is the means to learning across all areas of the curriculum, so problems with speech, language or communication skills may lead to additional educational difficulties, particularly with literacy. Also, obviously, communication difficulties can impair the ability to initiate and sustain social relationships.

See how we support individuals with learning and/or communication difficulties in “what we do” page. We also support gifted children by working with schools accommodate them in a special way so that they can perform to their full potential.

What are Learning Difficulties?

The general term learning difficulty covers a wide range of difficulties. It is not uncommon to hear many people using the term “dyslexia” to refer to any kind of learning difficulty. However, it is now generally accepted that dyslexia is dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty that mainly affects the skills involved in the reading and spelling of words. Of course, dyslexia can manifest itself as a difficulty with:

phonological awareness: the ability to identify how words are made up of smaller
units of sound,

phonological decoding: the process of relating a word’s written representation to its
verbal representation,

orthographic coding: the ability to both store in memory and retrieve from memory
letters and word patterns,

auditory short-term memory: the ability to remember auditory information over a
brief period of time, or

verbal processing speed naming: the time it takes to process and recognise familiar
verbal information, such as letters and digits.

ability to acquire arithmetical skills: dyslexics may have a difficulty performing
mathematical calculations (also known as dyscalculia).

Possible symptoms of dyslexia

Difficulties with reading

Difficulties with spelling

Poor sequencing skills

Poor short-term memory

Lack of phonological awareness – ability to break down words and recognise separate units of sound

Confusion with left and right

Problems with reading comprehension

Difficulties with mathematics

Difficulties with musical notation

Poor handwriting

Difficulties expressing thoughts orally

Poor organisational skills

Is there someone else in the family with similar difficulties?

There are also other learning difficulties which include:

Dyspraxia: a developmental coordination disorder, which is thought to be caused by
an immaturity in neurone development in the brain.

Attention deficit disorder (add), also known as attention deficit hyperactive disorder (adhd): children who cannot concentrate; move around constantly; have poor school performance (relative to their intelligence) and have disruptive behaviour might be considered as having this condition.

Non-verbal learning disabilities: refer to difficulties related to problem-solving which does not directly involve the use of verbal skills (spoken language).

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) Autism: refers to a complex developmental behavioural, learning and communication difficulties, whose symptoms generally start before age three and can cause delays or problems in several different skills that develop from infancy to adulthood.

See how we support individuals with learning and/or communication difficulties in “what we do” page. We also support gifted children by working with schools accommodate them in a special way so that they can perform to their full potential.